Collision
by Lord Lycaon
Summary: A stranger stumbles into Camp Half-Blood, and the campers aren't exactly happy. With no memory of his past, this young man must help Percy Jackson and his friends fend off monsters from another world: his world. But as the dreaded King of Evil draws ever closer, can the demigods even hope to combat this new enemy?
1. Chapter 1

The early morning sounds of the forest flooded his ears as he walked past the tall trees, birds singing with deceptively sweet songs and wild animals crying out to one another. He limped through the wood, dizzy and not knowing what was going on. Where was he? How did he get here? Why was he here at all? He had no idea. His mind was a blur, a darkened, incomprehensible mess. He could remember a few key words though: "power," "battle," and "help" being among the few that he could think of.

The sounds of large beasts hunting their prey entered the area. He could hear them running around him, attempting to surround him. He instinctively knew that he was in no condition to fight. If he stood his ground here and now, he would surely be killed. He began to move faster, going as quickly as his injured leg would allow. He had to find help somehow. He could only hope that there was someone nearby who could.

"Gods save me," he muttered to himself as he sprinted as best he could.

-o-

Percy Jackson yawned exhaustedly as he sat up from his bed in the Poseidon cabin. He had a long night of weird dreams. And that was saying a lot. He could remember a few details about the visions: an evil fog of darkness, some kind of fading green light that seemed to be leaning against a flaming bow, and some kind of triangular symbol. Maybe Annabeth or Rachel Dare could help him sort those images out. The last thing he wanted was to have nightmares about another apocalypse scenario, but it couldn't hurt to at least know for sure.

He quickly got dressed in a pair of tan shorts and his orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and went to check his schedule. He had picked up a habit from Annabeth to cross out days that had already passed by, and that had helped him considerably when it comes to making a proper schedule. Today was Monday, so after breakfast, he'll have to practice his Ancient Greek writing and speech, help prepare lunch for the day, then he'll have archery lessons. He groaned at that last one. He was pretty much the worst archer in the whole camp, but it was still required of him to take lessons.

Sighing to himself and heading out of his cabin, he made for the pavilion, where he'd be eating breakfast. At least today couldn't possibly get any worse, right?

-o-

He could hear them behind him. They were taking their time, toying with their prey. Even as he acknowledged this, he didn't stop moving. He couldn't fight. He needed to find somebody, anybody, who could help him. He stumbled briefly over an exposed tree root, but quickly regained his footing and hurried to maintain his original pace.

Eventually, he could see small buildings from between the trees ahead of him. It may have been a village of some kind. He was close to civilization now, and possibly close to being saved from whatever was chasing him. He just needed to get closer.

-o-

The pavilion was packed as usual, crowded with demigods, satyrs, and nymphs, plus the centaur and god who oversaw just about everything at camp. Mr. D was sipping from a can of Diet Coke with a look of boredom and disinterest as usual, while Chiron beamed at the campers as they ate.

It was a typical morning, Percy thought as he sat down at his table and was about to start eating a plate of eggs. He wasn't really in the mood for a big breakfast, even knowing that the day was probably going to be as tiring as usual. Before he could really start enjoying his meal, however, a tray of food suddenly collapsed on him, burying the son of Poseidon under scrambled eggs and sausages, with orange juice dripping down his back. The others laughed at him, and even Annabeth over at the Athena table had to suppress a snicker.

"Oh, geez, I'm so sorry!" a girl spoke from behind. He turned to face a girl about his age, with shoulder-length dark hair and bright blue eyes. She had fair skin that was accentuated by the brightness of her camp shirt and her long dark pants. "I'm such a klutz! I-I'll go get you some paper towels!" As she was about run off Percy raised his arm in front of her.

"It's all right, I'm fine," he assured the girl, but she didn't seem too convinced. "Just go get yourself a new plate. I'll worry about the eggs in my hair, all right?"

"Er… okay. If you say so…" The girl then hurried off, clearly more embarrassed than she should've been. Percy sighed as he looked down at his food. It had gotten all soggy thanks to the orange juice that had made it over his head. With a shrug, he picked up a sausage off of the table and bit into it. The orange juice made it sort of tangy, but it was still pretty good.

He looked around, feeling bored with nobody to talk to, and noticed the girl from earlier again, this time apparently taking a longer route to her table, and clearly attempting to be more careful. She soon sat down at the Apollo cabin's table, where she began chatting with her siblings like nothing had happened. Curious, he made a mental note to ask Annabeth if she knew anything about that girl. He hadn't heard anything about a new camper lately, and even if he had, it had probably slipped his mind somehow.

Out of nowhere, he heard the sound of a pack of hellhounds chasing something out of the nearby forest. He wasn't the only one, as the other demigods all shot up at once, all looking as if they were ready to fight. Out of the woods came a figure dressed in green, followed by the hellhounds. The guy in green looked armed, but injured. Percy immediately took Riptide out of his pocket and uncapped it, letting it grow into its sword form, then charged with others who had also has weapons ready (which was nearly everyone in camp).

The hellhounds all stopped their chase once they saw the force of angry half-bloods and fled back into the forest. The guy they had chased out limped over to the campers as they approached, letting everyone get a good look at him.

He wore a forest green tunic, but more of medieval England kind of tunic than Greek, with a matching floppy-looking cap, with light brown leggings and dark brown riding boots. He wore a pair of leather fingerless gloves over his hands. He had wild blue eyes and light brown hair. He was clearly only around seventeen or so, but he looked as though he'd been in a fight with a trash compactor and barely made it out alive. His most bizarre feature, however, was his ears: they were long and pointed, almost as if he were an elf.

Before anyone could do or say anything, the guy collapsed, his legs buckling under his own weight. Almost instantly, camp healers surrounded him. That was about when Chiron and Mr. D made it to the scene. "What's going on here?" the centaur asked.

"This guy was chased out of the woods by a pack of hellhounds!" Percy heard the voice of Will Solace call back. "He looks like he's in bad shape!" Eyes wide, Chiron galloped over to the collapsed young man, but his shock gradually merged with a look of confusion.

"Get a stretcher, quickly," Chiron ordered. "Get him to the Big House immediately." The Apollo campers nodded, and three of them ran off to get the stretcher. Chiron then made his way back to Mr. D. He whispered something to the wine god, whose eyes widened slightly, but quickly returned to their usual bored look. Percy knew almost instantly that that meant trouble.

"Attention, senior counselors!" Chiron called. "There will be a meeting in the Big House after breakfast! Everyone else, just go about your day as you normally would. Dismissed!"

With a few worried murmurs, and what may have been curses from the Ares campers, everyone returned to the dining pavilion. Before, Percy sat down, Annabeth came up to him and simply said, "What do you think?"

"That something bad is going to happen," Percy admitted with a shrug. "It usually does. When some guy comes into camp being chased by hellhounds, I'm gonna say that that's a bad sign."

"Yeah," Annabeth agreed with small nod. "I wonder what it's going to be this time?"

"Who knows? Could be a hoard of angry monsters out to get revenge. Again. But I've got a feeling that we're in for something way bigger than that." They were silent for a few moments after that. "I think Chiron and Mr. D know something that we don't."

"That'd be nothing new. I saw Chiron whisper something to Mr. D. Maybe they know who that guy is?"

Percy sat down and leaned back in his seat with a lazy groan. "I guess we'll find out at that meeting."

Annabeth nodded. "See you then, I guess." She turned to leave, but stopped and turned to land a quick kiss on her boyfriend's cheek. "Good morning, by the way."

"Morning," Percy replied as the daughter of Athena returned to her table and her siblings. He turned his eyes to the sky then, watching as clouds hovered past. He hadn't been lying about that bad feeling in his gut. Whenever something bad was coming, he just knew it. That was one of the many things that made being a demigod both a good and bad thing. Bad things were always just around the corner.

Chiron paced with a worried, almost distraught, expression, his hooves clopping hard against the wooden floor of the Big House. Dionysus was sitting, tapping his foot impatiently. After several moments of this, Chiron finally stopped and said, "You and the other Olympians had said that you had set up a barrier between here and there. What happened?"

"It must have gotten weaker over time," the wine god replied with a shrug of genuine lack of knowing. "At least this kid doesn't look like too much of a threat."

"That is what you said about that damnable mask that came through and fell into Adolf Hitler's hands!" Chiron exclaimed, angrily throwing his arms into the air. "That mask turned a man who had a good heart in a cold-blooded murderer almost overnight! Who knows what this boy may be capable of?"

"This is a mortal boy we're talking about," Dionysus stated matter-of-factly. "If he proves to be any kind of threat, I'll deal with him personally. Shouldn't be too hard, really."

Chiron sighed and gave a reluctant nod. He chuckled slightly. "In a situation like this, I'm usually the one who is the voice of reason. One of us is rubbing off on the other."

"Whatever," the wine god muttered as he took a swig of Diet Coke.

-o-

The darkened skies shrouded the land in bleak shadows, howls of unholy creatures flooding the once proud kingdom. The castle was occupied by the invaders, monsters that had showed no remorse. The demons whipped captured prisoners to keep them moving. Upon a balcony overlooking the city that surrounded the castle, a tall, muscular, heavily armored man stood with a malicious, victorious grin on his features. The kingdom was finally his. After all these years, he had finally won.

"Milord," said a woman's voice from behind him. The large man turned to see one of his generals, a dark sorceress, standing with several other armored warriors at her side. "We have found her." She stepped aside to reveal a young woman, only about eighteen or so, with long blond hair and sparkling blue eyes, her hands bound behind her back. Her royal dress was tattered torn in several areas, looking as though she had fought back to keep from being captured.

The armored man grinned and approached the young woman, easily towering over her. He lowered himself to eye level with her, his villainous smile never wavering. "So…" he said in a deep, powerful baritone. "Your kingdom is mine now, Princess Zelda. Would you be so kind as to give me what I seek now?"

The girl named Zelda narrowed her eyes at the man. "Never. You will never have the power you desire. Besides, even if I gave you the part of it that I carry, you would still need to find the last piece."

The man's smile shifted ever so slightly. "And where might the last piece be?"

"I will never tell you, King of Evil. All you need to know is that it's safe from your grasp. And once its owner returns, he'll have found help. You will never truly win."

"Is that so?" the king inquired. He stood to his full height once again and faced the sorceress who now stood by his side. "Take her to the dungeons, Veran. Do whatever you deem necessary to get the information out of her, but don't kill her. I need her alive to achieve my goals."

The witch named Veran bowed. "As you wish, Lord Ganondorf." With that, she led the armored soldiers and princess out of the chamber, leaving the huge man to himself.

Ganondorf returned to looking out over the balcony, his hands behind his back, his cape fluttering slightly in the wind. He smiled once more. Total conquest was just within his grasp. The gods will kneel before him.


	2. Chapter 2

Pretty much everyone at the ping pong table was more than a little suspicious. Even Clarisse seemed like she had figured something was up, which was more than enough to let Percy know for certain that something was going on that none of them were aware of. Chiron was being silent, as though he were trying to gather his thoughts, which was yet more cause for suspicion. Mr. D finished up a can of Diet Coke and conjured up yet another one. Finally, the silence got to him.

"Okay, what's going on?" Percy asked. Chiron glanced over at Mr. D, who shrugged in response.

The centaur sighed and said, "We're not entirely certain ourselves. But before we go any further on that…" He turned to Will Solace. "How is our… guest doing?"

"He's doing all right, as far as I can tell," Will replied. "I have Alice Monroe looking after him right now."

"Who?" Percy asked.

"That girl who dropped her breakfast on your head," Clarisse stated bluntly. "Will, are you sure she's the best option for that kind of job? From what I've heard, just about everything she touches turns into a disaster."

Will actually chuckled at that. "Maybe, but she's actually the best healer in the whole camp. Even better than me. Trust me, she's an amazing medic."

Chiron gave a nod of approval. "Very good. Now… onto the matter at hand. You see… that boy isn't human. This is evidenced by his ears. However, it goes much further than that: he's not even of this world."

To this, just about everyone raised an eyebrow. "So, you're saying he's an alien?" Annabeth inquired. "That's ridiculous."

Mr. D snorted to that. "And what did all of you say to the existence of me and my brethren? Did you all believe everything the instant you were told about the Olympians? No. Besides, this kid's not an alien in the traditional sense. He's from a land that exists in a world parallel to our own. One that we gods have kept a barrier against for years, ever since the beginning of World War II."

"Back then, an object had come through from this other realm of existence," Chiron explained. "A mask. One that held power that rivaled even the Big Three altogether. Its dark influence turned Adolf Hitler into the murderous madman we know him as today."

"So now you're saying that this guy is from another reality," Travis Stoll surmised, "and that there're things there that are more powerful than any one god? That's beautiful."

"Now's no time for jokes, son of Hermes," Mr. D warned. "If one person came through, then it's very likely that someone is going to come in after him."

"We need to prepare the camp for anything," Chiron advised. "That boy had severe injuries. I believe that it would be safe to say that it wasn't the hellhounds that he was initially running from."

And almost as if on cue, the ground began to shake, accompanied by the sound of something roaring in rage and possibly hunger. "What the hell was that!?" Clarisse shouted, standing up from her seat, ready to fight.

"I predict that it may be what the boy was running from," the wine god replied calmly, not even rising from his seat.

-o-

This wasn't how she wanted to start her day. When she woke up this morning, she literally fell out of bed and knocked over a small statue of Apollo, which shattered on the floor. The guy who had made it wasn't too happy about that. Then she tripped over one of her loose shoelaces at breakfast and dropped her whole plate on the head of that son of Poseidon – Percy or something, she thought his name was. Now she, of all people, was stuck having to take care of some stranger who had stumbled out of the woods followed by a pack of demonic dog monsters. She sighed as she finished applying medicine to the last of the mystery boy's open wounds. Today wasn't great so far.

She found herself staring at the boy's face. She had to admit that he was pretty good-looking. He was almost as handsome as the sons of Aphrodite, but in a more… adventurous way. She then stared at his currently shirtless torso, which was strong and well-toned, probably from years of training to use that sword and shield he had on his back. She quickly shook her head.

"Get it together, Alice," she muttered to herself. "You've gotta stop staring at people like that. They'll think you're even weirder than you already are." She released another sigh as she put away her medical stuff – one of the few things she never tripped with – and went to grab her journal, which she always kept with her at all times. Unlike most demigods, she didn't have much trouble with modern languages (though Ancient Greek was the easiest for her), a trait she was glad for, personally. She began writing down the events of the day, as usual.

As Alice wrote, she occasionally looked over at the unconscious boy that she had been told to take care of. He didn't really show any signs of waking up soon, which she didn't know to be a good or bad thing. He didn't look like he'd be much trouble, but she'd seen some really crazy stuff over the last few weeks. For all she knew, he might be some kind of horrible monster just waiting to rearrange her body parts. Not exactly her idea of fun.

She shook her head again and finished her journal entry for the day, then put the book back on the nearest table. At that moment, she heard somebody groaning. She faced the boy whom she had been taking care of, and saw him moving. He slowly sat up, grunting in pain and grasping his side. Alice immediately hurried back to him and said, "Easy! You don't want open your wounds again! I just finished… fixing…" She lost her train of thought almost the instant she made eye contact with him.

His eyes were a startling shade of blue. They held a wild look, almost feral even. There was fire in those eyes, too. It was small at the moment, but just one look told her that that flame could easily become an inferno if one didn't tread carefully with him.

"Where am I?" the boy asked, but Alice was too busy studying his eyes. He waved his hand in front of her and snapped his fingers, making her blink and shake her head. "Where am I?" he repeated. "And who are you?"

"Y-you're at the clinic in Camp Half-Blood," she replied nervously. "M-my name's Alice. Alice Monroe. And you are?"

The boy stared at her momentarily, as if surprised that she had asked. He said, "My name… is… my name…" He grunted loudly, holding his head as if he was having a severe migraine. Alice moved to help him, but he stopped her. "I… I don't know… I-"

_"RAAAAAAR!"_

That made Alice jump nearly ten feet into the air. "W-what was THAT!?" she cried out turning in the direction that the roar had come from. "Was that some kind of monster or something!?" She didn't get an answer. The blue-eyed boy rushed out of the cot that he had been laid out on before Alice could actually respond. When she had finally processed what had just happened, she shouted, "H-hey! Get back here!"

The boy ignored Alice's command and sprinted out of the clinic, heading for the source of that monstrous sound. Against her better judgment, she followed after him, something in her mind screaming at her to stop all the while.

She should've listened.

As soon as she got outside, she stopped dead in her tracks, her eyes falling upon a massive, ferocious-looking skeletal behemoth. Its spine was stuck in the ground, but it was so large that it didn't look as though it would've needed to move around much. It was easily at least a hundred feet tall, and its head was like that of a dragon, numerous horns jutting out of the back. Its eye sockets glowed with a fiery red light, burning with hatred and malevolence.

And somehow, it could speak: "Puny beings of flesh and blood!" it said in a voice that was like iron nails scraping against a chalkboard. "Hear my name and fear my presence! I am the bane of all living things, subservient only to He Who Wields Power! I am Stallord, the Fossil King! You will all serve me in the afterlife!" It opened its mouth once more, but instead of words, searing flames and smoke blasted past its teeth.


	3. Chapter 3

Percy couldn't help but just stare at the enormous skeletal beast. It was easily one of the largest creatures he had ever seen, and the fact that it could somehow breathe fiery gas only made the whole thing that much more intimidating. He and the other counselors were forced to leap away as the monster's rancid breath crashed into the Big House, setting the whole place on fire.

"Okay, I'll bite!" Percy shouted frantically as he uncapped Riptide. "What the hell is that thing!?"

"I have no idea!" Chiron exclaimed in response. "I've seen living skeletons and giants before, but never anything like that behemoth!"

Percy cursed in Ancient Greek. If Chiron didn't know what they were dealing with, then that thing could only have been from that "other world" that the centaur had told them about. Perfect. His mind began racing, trying to find some way to at least slow the beast down so that the others could strike harder, but he was nowhere near any viable water sources.

That's about when he saw that guy from before, the dude who had blacked out in the middle of camp, shirtless and running into the battlefield, completely unarmed. Was that guy insane? "Hey!" Percy called to him, but he clearly didn't hear him over the sound of one of the cabins being turned into a bonfire. It looked like it might've been the Artemis cabin. Thalia and the other Hunters of Artemis weren't going to be too happy about that.

Shaking his head, and repeatedly telling himself that this was likely the dumbest thing he was going to do all day, he sprinted after the pointy-eared guy. The dude had stopped when he was about a hundred feet from the thing that had called itself "Stallord," looking as though he had just realized that he most likely didn't have any sort of plan whatsoever. When Percy got to him, he grabbed the guy by his arm and spun him around to face him.

"Are you out of your gods-damned mind!?" Percy asked loudly, mostly so that he could be heard over the sounds of other demigods trying to fight the skeleton. "You're not even wearing a shirt! What the hell are you doing out here!?"

"I…" Elf-boy trailed off, with no obvious clue what his answer should've been. "I… I don't know. I just know that I need to be here. I can help. I don't know how, but I can."

"Dude, you're half naked and unarmed," Percy reasoned. "You have to go and get somewhere safe. We can handle this." The guy remained silent as Percy turned to face the giant. Just as the son of Poseidon was about to charge in to aid his fellow half-bloods, however, a fist crashed into the back of his head, and Riptide was yanked out of his loosened grip. When he stopped stumbling, he saw the elf guy rushing towards the skeleton. "Dammit!" He rushed after the guy, who stopped very briefly to pick up a shield, which he quickly held ready on his right arm, with Percy's Celestial Bronze sword in his left hand.

The boy stopped when he was right in front of the skeleton, and shouted out, "Hey! Down here!"

Stallord stopped spitting out his toxic fumes and glared down at the boy with those burning eyes of his. Percy had the feeling that the giant probably would've grinned if he had a properly designed face. "There you are, boy," the Fossil King bellowed out. "I have been looking for you. My master seeks your destruction, along with the power that you hold."

"What power?" the elf kid replied. "Who is your master? What do you know about me?"

"Do not be coy with me, Link," the monster roared, apparently not very happy with the elf's response. "You bear the blood of the Ancient Heroes of Hyrule! You wield the blade that has trapped my lord so many times over! But now, he has returned once again, and he will not be defeated this time! All power shall go to the Great King!" With that, the giant moved to spew out flames once again. Just before he could, however, a single arrow flew right into his left eye socket, making him twitch as if caught off guard. He turned and glared at the person who had shot at him.

Alice Monroe stared back at the beast, her bow having fallen out of her hand. That probably wasn't the best idea ever. She had thought that maybe its eyes were weak points or something. Clearly, she was mistaken. "Um… sorry?"

Stallord wailed out in fury more than annoyance, and began to drag himself across the ground towards the daughter of Apollo, who didn't move at all. Her eyes were glued to Stallord's. She felt something raging throughout her entire body, locking her legs in position. She couldn't move. She learned quickly what was holding her in place: fear. Stallord's burning, hate-filled eyes had flooded her mind with nothing less than worst case scenarios. She saw herself being crushed beneath massive bony fists, incinerated by searing hot smog, devoured by decaying, rotted teeth. She was terrified. She didn't truly know why. She just was.

As Stallord was about to throw down his enormous hand to flatten the girl, however, he stopped, unleashing an ear-piercing screech that was clearly an indicator of pain. The pointy-eared stranger whom Stallord had called Link had rammed Riptide straight into a gap between two of the Fossil King's vertebrae. He quickly yanked the sword out and sprinted as fast as he could to Alice just as Stallord released a rage-fueled breath of flame. Link raised up his shield to block the inferno, knocking Alice onto the ground so that she'd be safer.

"Are you all right?" Link asked the demigoddess as she just laid there staring at him in shock. He wasn't looking directly at her, but she could tell just by the look on the left half of his face that he was genuinely concerned, but at the same time full prepared to kill something. "Are you all right!?" he asked again, louder this time. She nodded quickly in reply, and that was apparently enough for him. Stallord stopped spitting flames, but was now rearing back to do it again. "Good. I'm going to do something stupid now." Before Alice could ask, the elf boy ran off towards the skeleton.

Stallord immediately moved to flatten the boy under his bony palm, but Link moved to a point between his fingers and ran onto the skeletal arm, which was now rising up off the ground and into the air. The half-bloods at the scene watched as the boy was raised higher and higher into the air… then leaped off at the arm's peak. He tossed away his shield and took hold of one of Stallord's horns as the monster swung itself around, trying to toss the boy away.

Link held on and pulled himself up onto the monster's fleshless scalp. There, he could see a small point in between the two centermost horns. It was a glowing red gem. He could practically feel power radiating off of it. Without hesitation, he grabbed one horn to steady himself, and swung Riptide as hard as he could straight into the gem, cracking it. Stallord released another shriek of agony, and more as Link continued striking the stone embedded into the skull. Eventually, the gem shattered completely, and Stallord's cries stopped.

The behemoth collapsed, falling backward into the ground… his skull crashing right into the still-burning Big House. The demigods all gathered around the blaze, staring wide-eyed at the fallen giant as its bones slowly began to darken.

"Is that elf dude dead?" one camper asked as Percy managed to push his way to the front of the crowd, where he found Annabeth and the other camp counselors, along with Chiron and the somehow-dumbfounded Mr. D. Even Alice had managed to get to the front.

"Did that actually happen just now?" the sea god's son asked, very few words in his mind be qualified to describe the events of not even ten seconds ago.

"That boy likely just gave his life for complete strangers," Chiron replied. He didn't seem one hundred percent convinced about that though. "Percy, check your pocket. Is Riptide there now?" The demigod did as asked, and shook his head when he found nothing in any of his pockets. "Then that must mean that…"

Suddenly, a blade pierced through what remained of the front wall of the Big House, pulled back in, then hacked the wall again. Soon enough, elf-boy broke out of the burning building, walking out almost nonchalantly, as if he was used to crashing into buildings with giant monsters' heads.

He gave a small smirk and pointed back at the Big House with his thumb. "I think somebody needs a new house," he said with obvious dry humor in his tone. Nobody laughed. He eyed the crowd ahead of him, then looked down at himself. "What? Are you all quiet because I'm shirtless right now? Because I think the burning building behind me is more important at the moment."

Percy raised a hand, pointing at something behind the pointy-eared kid, who turned around in response. His eyes widened as he saw a smoky form rising out of where Stallord's skull should've been. The entire body had vanished into a cloud of smoke. It wasn't normal smoke either. It was forming a vaguely human body, which touched down onto the ground silently.

_"You foolish Hylian,"_ the smoke creature said in Stallord's voice, only much raspier, far colder. _"You have only felled one of my master's generals. There are others, plus the Great King himself. They will end your life, Link of Hyrule. And my lord will claim the power that you hold. The power that is rightfully his."_

"What are you talking about?" the boy apparently named Link asked. He obviously had no clue what was going on. "What power? What 'Great King?' What do you want from me?"

_"Death awaits you,"_ the entity replied as its form began to dissipate. _"Death awaits all those who seek to oppose my lord. You will all either die with swords in hand, or kneel with shackles on your wrists. The Great King will rule all."_ At that, the form finally faded completely.

Link stood there, completely baffled by what he had just heard. His mind raced. What power was Stallord talking about? Who the hell is the "Great King?" Why was his mind such a jumbled mess right now? His musings were interrupted by the sound of clopping hooves and someone clearing their throat. He turned to see a man riding… himself. He was normal from the waist up, but from the waist down… "A horse-man…" he muttered quietly. "I'll be damned. You're a horse-man."

"First of all, the term is 'centaur'," the horse-man replied. "And my name is Chiron. Now that you're awake, do you think you can tell us, exactly, who you are, why you're here, and why that monster was after you?"

The boy shook his head. "I… don't really know, honestly. That thing called me Link, but I'm not totally sure if that's my name. If it is, then there you go, but I have no idea how or why I came here. The last thing I remember before blacking out in this… camp, I guess, was running out of those… woods… over…" The guy suddenly collapsed again, his wounds reopened and bleeding out. Alice Monroe was the first person after Chiron to reach him.

"We need to get him back to the clinic, fast!" she shouted as she tried desperately to stop the blood from spilling out of the tears in the boy's skin.

As the rest of the Apollo cabin hurried to get "Link" back to get medical treatment, Chiron was approached by Percy, who picked up Riptide off the ground and capped it again, stowing the pen back into his pocket. "Chiron, I think you know more than you've been letting on," Percy said.

Chiron sighed in exasperation. "I'm not totally certain about that, Perseus," the centaur responded. "I'll have to consult Mr. D and the other Olympians about this. They know more about this other world – this so-called 'Hyrule' – than I do." That said, he trotted off, leaving Percy standing with a suspicious look that he hadn't worn for years.

-o-

Ganondorf sat upon his new throne, tapping his foot impatiently. Stallord should have returned by now, but the oversized bag of bones was nowhere to be seen. He stopped tapping his foot when the doors to the throne room opened, and a man twice his size wearing golden armor walked, his footsteps like thunder as he approached. The giant man knelt down with a crashing sound and said, "Milord, it would appear that Stallord… has been defeated."

The Evil King sneered angrily at the news, but he didn't stay angry for long. "I suppose I should not be surprised," he said with a tone that not disappointment, nor pleasure. "The boy's ancestors have proven more than troublesome in the past." He was silent for several moments. "Onox, inform… _him_ to keep tabs on Link for now. He can watch the boy more accurately than anyone."

Onox cringed slightly. "_Him_, milord?" he inquired. "Are you certain? He is most… unpredictable. He may just kill the boy and claim the Ancient Power for himself."

"It is of no concern. Even if that does come to pass, I will end that one's life myself and take what is mine. Now go." Onox nodded and rose to leave the room. Ganondorf grinned maliciously, dark intent flashing through his golden eyes. _All in due time…_


	4. Chapter 4

She sat there, watching him as he rested. Alice wasn't assigned to take care of him this time. She had actually volunteered to do so. This boy had saved her life after she had done what was probably the stupidest thing ever. She felt that she should at least try to heal his injuries again, even if he did bring this on himself.

"What is wrong with guys like you?" she asked him, fully aware that he likely wasn't going to respond. She chuckled dryly at herself. "You know, there's something about you. I don't know what it is, but I can just tell that… you're a good person. But… who are you? Where are you from?" The boy didn't respond, as she expected. She sighed almost in defeat. She really did want to know who this guy was, if only so that she knew the name of the guy who had saved her.

Suddenly, the boy jerked upwards, making Alice jump out of her seat and landing painfully on the floor on her backside. The boy stared at her almost stupidly, like he had no idea why she was sitting on the ground. "Hey," the boy said. "You're that girl from before. You shot that thing in the eye, right?"

"Er…" Alice just stared at him, utterly dumbfounded. He was sitting up on the cot with an expression that made it seem as though nothing had happened. "Yeah… that was… me." She stood up and brushed off her shorts, then held out a hand. "My name is Alice Monroe, but I think I already told you that. What was your name again? That monster called you Link."

The pointy-eared boy groaned a little. "Yeah, he did. And… I think that might actually be my name…" He was silent for several moments before nodding. "Yeah, I think that's right. It sort of just… fits, somehow." He looked at her with those feral blue eyes of his, studying her thoroughly. "Camp… Half-Blood?"

"What?"

"That's what your shirt says," Link replied. "I guess that's where I am right now. What's a 'half-blood'?"

Alice was about to answer, but stopped herself. "I… don't really know if I'm qualified to tell you about that. I could take you to Chiron after we get you some clothes. He'll want to see you anyway."

"Chiron? That horse guy?" Alice nodded. Link didn't seem upset, but he was clearly unsure about that. "Are you certain about that? So far, all my experiences with non-human creatures have been pretty negative."

"He's trustworthy," she assured him. "He can be really strict, and he has this look that always sends chills down my spine, but he's a good person… horse… guy… centaur. He's a good centaur."

Link raised an eyebrow, but shrugged regardless. "If you say so." He looked around for a moment, then faced Alice again. "Er, two thing, by the way: first, didn't I have a different outfit before I woke up before? And second, where can I get something to eat? I'm starving."

-o-

The half-bloods had all gathered for dinner, and were already eating when Alice and Link arrived. Alice had given Link the green outfit that he had had on originally, earning the young man some stares of both curiosity and suspicion. She couldn't blame them, considering he had, maybe unintentionally, led a giant, fire-breathing, demonic skeleton into the camp. Not exactly a great way to earn people's trust, she surmised.

Link kept glancing to the campers uncomfortably. He didn't feel used to this kind of attention. It felt weird having all those glares focused on him. He noticed one table of campers who seemed especially angry for whatever reason. One of them, a dark-haired, burly-looking girl, drew her thumb across her neck at him, an obvious warning to steer clear of her and her buddies.

Alice led Link to the table where Dionysus and Chiron normally ate. The God of Wine narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the green-clad boy. Chiron eyed the boy with a similar look, but mixed in was a sense of curiosity.

"Here's our guest," Alice said to the centaur. "I didn't know where you'd want him, so…"

"He will sit by me," Chiron said, nodding his head to an empty chair to his left. Reluctantly, Link took the seat, looking back to Alice for a brief moment before a nymph came by with a huge tray of food and a look in her eyes that said, _This one's gonna be mine!_ Link just looked confused as two other nymphs came by and started offering him food as well. The three nature spirits quickly began to bicker until Mr. D shooed them away.

Alice turned and headed for her cabin's table, giving a couple glances back at the pointy-eared boy before taking her usual seat. She could hear giggling coming from the Aphrodite table nearby, and she could almost swear that she heard her named mentioned at least twice. She shook it off, though, as a satyr came by and set a plate of food in front of her, as well as one of those weird goblets that magically filled themselves with whatever drink one could ask for, as long as it was nonalcoholic. Beer and demigod powers don't mix well, she assumed.

As everyone else ate, Link just stared in confusion at his empty goblet. "Uh… shouldn't this be filled with something? Water? Milk? Wine?"

Mr. D visibly winced at the mention of wine. "It fills with whatever you want," the wine god explained. He quickly chugged down some Diet Coke to get his mind off of his preferred beverage. "No alcohol, unfortunately."

Link raised an eyebrow, but lifted his goblet and thought about what he could have to drink. He thought about having some milk, and the white liquid filled his goblet. He drank and began to eat, and almost lost himself in how utterly perfect everything tasted. As he ate, he heard someone running up to the table and turned to see whoever it was.

A girl with reddish hair wearing the same orange t-shirt as most of the other campers and formfitting pants came up to the table, breathing pretty heavily. "Sorry I'm so late this year!" she said to Chiron. "School went on for longer than I thought it…" She looked at Link with a curious stare. "Uh… who's this?"

"Some boy who was chased out of the woods by a pack of hellhounds," Dionysus said with a bored look, as though everyone in camp shared the same origin. "Not to mention he brought a giant, demonic, fire-breathing skeleton along with him."

"Which he killed," Chiron added. "His name is Link."

"Link?" the redhead repeated. "Well, at least it's easier to remember than a lot of other names that I've heard over the past few years." She stretched out her hand to the green-clad boy with a welcoming smile. "My name is Rachel Dare. Nice to meet you, Link."

"Shu fu," Link said with his mouth full. He swallowed his food and said, "Sorry. You, too." He shook her hand, and Rachel suddenly froze. Link tried to pull his hand away, but the girl's grip was like a vice. "You can let go now."

A brief moment passed, and Rachel's eyes began to glow an unearthly green, and she spoke in an unnatural voice loud enough to draw everybody's attention:

_The dread king walks with man of iron and lady of shadow_

_Before his might he will make the world bow_

_Unless gods and heroes of worlds two stand firm_

_And the face of madness shall rule upon its own terms_

Silence ensued as Rachel shook her head in slight daze and released Link's hand. She looked more than a little disturbed. "That… wasn't supposed to happen."

While others looked uneasy, Link just looked confused. "Okay… so, why the random poetry?"

"It was no simple poem," Chiron warned. "It was a prophecy."

"One that I didn't intend to make," Rachel clarified. She shook her head again and faced Link. "You must've triggered it somehow."

Again, there was silence, save for the barely audible murmurs between the campers. Chiron began to stroke his beard in thought, while Dionysus didn't even pretend to be interested. Or maybe he was pretending to _not_ be interested. It was difficult to tell.

Chiron cleared his throat and said, "Camp counselors, it would seem that another meeting may be necessary." Several of the campers groaned in response, but the centaur ignored them and turned to leave. "Link, you will come with me."

"But…" Link pointed to the rest of his meal. "There's food here. I can't help figure out a mysterious and ominous prophecy on an empty stomach."

"You will come with me. Now."

The green-clad boy sighed in defeat and stood from his seat, grabbing a half-eaten hamburger from his plate and cramming most of it into his mouth before following Chiron to the Big House. He didn't notice that Alice was giving him worried looks from her spot at the Apollo table. The words of that redhead's prophecy sent chills down her spine. Something bad was going to happen, she just knew it.

-o-

A pair of crimson eyes narrowed as Link left the dining pavilion. The Hylian didn't seem like he had noticed his presence yet. Good. Ganondorf wouldn't be pleased if he failed his mission so quickly. He would have to just continue keeping an eye on the boy until he heard word from the King.

The words of that prophecy interested him, however. There was something cold and dark about them. But the thing that interested him more was the girl who had spoken them. A prophecy meant seeing the future. Seeing the future meant an enormous advantage in just about anything. He grinned malevolently. He doubted Ganondorf would mind if he got him a little present. He might even earn a promotion and get to rub Onox and Veran's noses in it.

"This is gonna be fun," he said in a distorted voice as he began to sink into the ground, a dark chuckle passing through his throat as he vanished.

-o-

**Okay, this chapter feels a little underwhelming to me. Sorry if you guys feel the same way, but I've been lacking in genuine motivation for anything aside from my MLP fics... did I just write that? ... Eh, f**k it. I'm a brony. Deal with it.**


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